


Island Remix

by mage_cat



Series: Home, not Homeworld [6]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:24:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mage_cat/pseuds/mage_cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Crystal Gems visit Mask Island so Amethyst and Peridot can practice fusing. Set after "Allium Rhapsody."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Island Remix

**Author's Note:**

> Judging from that kudos to hit ratio, "Composition" is still my most popular fic. One of my goals in writing this series was getting Amethyst and Peridot to reach Fluorite in a less rushed way. To earn it, I guess. Trust doesn't come by accident. So, how is Fluorite different when her first formation is intentional and includes a Peridot who is more secure in her place with the Crystal Gems? Read and see.  
> Obviously, I will not be getting the last story in this series up before the StevenBomb starts, but it should be up in a day or so.

“Think about like when you were testing out that synthesizer you made, I took out my drum kit, and we were jamming. I have a rhythm. You have a melody. When we find the place that they start working together, that's the song. That's fusion,” Amethyst told Peridot as they stood on the beach of Mask Island.

Garnet and Pearl were a short distance away, playing cards and pointedly not watching. This was formal training, the location chosen for both lack of distractions and the ability to contain any potential damage. The older Gems had agreed to give the two some space while they practiced. Steven was allowed to watch, on the basis that he still hadn't managed to fuse with any of the Gems yet and needed the instruction as much as Peridot did. He had promised to stay quiet.

“I am still unsure about the dancing aspect of this,” said Peridot.

“Just hold that song you were playing in your head. Let it move you. That's enough to start.”

Peridot brought the song to her mind as Amethyst started dancing. Her style was a bit erratic, but then, so was her drumming, and Peridot had figured out how to work with that. The tune Amethyst was referring to was a bouncing melody that Peridot had simply fallen into once she had been satisfied with the way her instrument was able to run through scales. She hadn't been trying for any specific effect. It had just felt like it had been a part of her, and it had taken the addition of percussion well. Once the two were moving in time together, Peridot held out her hand, and Amethyst took it. They each felt a warmth in their gems as they performed a turn, a twist, and another turn.

There was an electric rush. Then, four eyes looked out from a perspective that was higher than Peridot with limb enhancers, but lower than Opal. The colors around her seemed a bit different, which she quickly realized was an effect of the visor she was wearing. She looked down at two leanly muscled arms, evenly striped in purple and green, a soft plum tunic with a silver-gray star on the chest, dark green leggings, and gray knee-high boots. She couldn't have suppressed her laugh even if she had wanted to. “Guys! Guys, I did it!”

Steven was already standing by her with stars in his eyes as Pearl and Garnet approached. The new fusion took half a second to access her identity sub-matrix and another to realize that Peridot must be the only Crystal Gem who knew what an identity sub-matrix was, because apparently none of Amethyst's other fusions had ever framed the thought that way. Still, the important information was there. “I'm Fluorite,” she said with a beaming smile. “What do you think?”

“You look so cool!” Steven cried. “I like the stripes.”

“How does it feel?” Peal asked.

“Incredible!” Fluorite answered. “Everything looks interesting, and I feel like I could run for miles, and the combination of Peridot's and Amethyst's knowledge bases offers some fascinating analytical possibilities. I mean, it's not like they haven't already told each other a lot, but to be able to exchange that information without having to put it into words first speeds up the process so much.” She said this all at a speed that made Steven wonder if she was bothering with breathing.

“And your weapon?” Garnet asked.

Fluorite turned to the older fusion, getting a momentary thrill from the realization that they were visor-to-visor with each other as she considered the question. “I'll be keeping the boomerang and the whip separate. There isn't anything I can make from them that was worth losing the flexibility that having both offers.” She noticed Steven's look of confusion in her peripheral vision and turned her head to answer his unspoken question, causing her low ponytail of pure white, wavy hair to fall over one shoulder. “A fusion combining weapons isn't actually a requirement. Smoky Quartz always used Amethyst's whip and Rose's shield separately too.”

“First test is an endurance trial: see how long you can keep yourself together under non-adverse circumstances,” Garnet said seriously before cracking a smile. “Go have fun.”

“Want to come along, Steven?” asked Fluorite.

“Sure!”

Fluorite and Steven spent several hours exploring the island, including some time with Steven riding on the fusion's shoulders as he directed her to places he had found the time he had spent a week there. If the path included more climbing of trees and rocks than was strictly necessary, well, that was part of the fun. They had come to a brief stop when Fluorite pointed at a small boulder and said, “Hey, do you think I could break that open?”

“We won't know until you try.”Steven still hadn't gotten over the Gems showing him new abilities, and right now, everything Fluorite did qualified as new.

“In theory this should be easy. That looks like it could be a weak spot. Small density shift to the fist and…” There was a satisfying cracking sound. “Success! Big surprise, another geode. Why are there so many of these things on this island? It has to be Gem work. Geodes don't normally get near as big as the ones here.”

“You mean you don't know?”

Fluorite didn't look up from examining the crystals as she answered in what Steven had come to accept as her standard rapid-fire rate, “Pretty much the only major Gem construction that happened after Amethyst emerged was some of the Temple, and Peridot's information about Earth was always a bit hit-or-miss. Amethyst never thought to ask about this place. Who knows how much the others would have told her anyway? Sometimes it seems like everything hits too close to old wounds.” Fluorite sighed, “How many millennia's worth of healing do they need?” She faced Steven, her voice more measured than it had been all day. “Hey, Little Man, you want to head back over to Pearl and Garnet? I just want to think for a while, and I wouldn't want to bore you.”

“Alright, see you back at the beach.”

It was about an hour later when Garnet found her laid out on a high tree branch. “You're lasting well for your first time.”

“You know Amethyst and Peridot spend a lot of time alone together, right? Mostly they just sort of hold each other and talk. They can do that for hours. This don't feel so much different.”

“You seem to have calmed down.”

“Just shifted energy internally for a bit.” Fluorite hopped down to the ground. “You don't think about 'why' questions very often, do you, Garnet?”

“My Future Vision can tell me what can happen. I don't see much point in the whys of things.”

Fluorite leaned against the tree's trunk. “That's some of what I've been thinking about. It seems awfully limiting to your problem-solving abilities. Maybe it's a perspective thing though. Peridot's job has always included a certain amount of asking 'why.' Usually along the lines of 'Why is the injector making that noise?' She just keeps asking 'why' until she finds the cause of the problem. Considering the past few years, though, it seems that reflecting on possible root causes could have mitigated some issues. The Red Eye really should have been an early warning that Homeworld was taking a renewed interest in Earth. Peridot showing up shouldn't have blindsided everyone to way it did. Then, the team spent weeks fighting Plug Robonoids. Do you realize how harmless a Plug Robonoid is? I'm pretty sure there are more dangerous bunnies. But no, the policy is for anything unknown to be treated as a hostile. Attack first and don't consider asking questions later, until Steven finally insists on it.”

“We have our reasons.”

“Stars above!” Fluorite snapped. “Will you stop being so mysterious? I swear, Peridot is the only Gem on this team who actually talks! It may be Amethyst's favorite thing about her. All this silence about the past is starting to have serious effects on the functioning of this team. Do you realize how much Amethyst and Peridot know about the war? Basically squat. Between them, I know squat. Steven knows less than squat. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why Homeworld keeps information about a large-scale Gem rebellion on a need-to-know basis, but on a team this size? Guess what? Everyone needs to know! Peridot is not going to be the last Gem to come here from Homeworld, and you cannot count on a steady stream of defections. Eventually there is going to be a serious confrontation, and everyone who is going to be a part of it deserves to know why it is happening.” She was breathing heavily before a look of dawning horror crossed her face. “What did I just do?”

A blaze of light left Amethyst and Peridot sitting on the ground. The last time either of them had looked so frightened, the Earth was in danger of exploding.

Garnet towered above them, her expression unreadable. “Anything else you two would like to say?”

“No,” Peridot squeeked.

“That pretty much covered everything,” Amethyst said.

“Clearly you two have reasons to be frustrated. Perhaps we have allowed some topics to remain sensitive for too long. We will discuss them. Not now, but soon and as a team. Combat trials for Fluorite will take place as soon as you feel up to it.” With that, Garnet walked off.

“So,” said Peridot, “the ending was a bit… tense, but before that...”

“Oh yeah. Fluorite was awesome.” Amethyst replied. “I am all for it anytime you wanna fuse again.”

“I am usually better at keeping my mouth shut around my superiors.” Part of Peridot joining the Crystal Gems had been accepting that Garnet was in charge. Since then, she had been giving her due deference. Now she worried that Fluorite had gone too far in the heat of the moment.

“You don't usually have my five thousand years of pent-up frustration behind you.” Amethyst's anger had always taken a long, slow burn before exploding, and she knew that Peridot tended to keep hers close to the surface. It shouldn't have been a surprise that the two of them together could manage some good quality yelling. A note of confusion entered Amethyst's voice. “And it may have been a good thing?”

“How angry do you think Garnet is?”

“She may be more upset with herself than us. She takes the whole 'leadership' thing very seriously.” Amethyst took Peridot's hand in hers. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For asking questions. I guess there's more 'loyal soldier' in me than I thought.”

“You can't fix anything without asking a few questions. I just hope we asked the right ones.”

“Come on. Let's go home.”


End file.
